An industrial machine, for example, excavator, shovel, continuous miner, loader, truck, etc., includes an engine that provides power for propelling the machine and for operation of one or more work tools of the machine. The fuel supplied to the engine often passes through a filter system that traps and removes particulates and/or water in the fuel. It is necessary to periodically drain the water accumulated in the filter system. It may also sometimes be necessary to drain the fuel from a tank or from other components associated with the engine, for example, to facilitate maintenance or repairs on the engine.
Operation of the engine and/or the machine also requires a variety of fluids other than fuel. For example, the engine requires engine lubricant for lubrication of its moving parts, and coolant to cool various engine components. Likewise the machine may require transmission fluid to lubricate components of a transmission connecting the engine with wheels or tracked undercarriages of the machine, brake fluid to activate brakes on the wheels, and/or hydraulic fluid to actuate work tools associated with the machine etc. The fluids required for engine and/or machine operation (e.g. coolant, lubricant, transmission fluid, brake fluid, hydraulic fluid, etc.) may accumulate debris and may degrade or decompose over time. As a result one or more of these fluids may have to be periodically drained and replaced. A hose may be attached to a port of the machine to transfer the fluid from the machine into a fluid storage tank. To prevent spills or leaks, and to safely remove the fluid from the machine, it may be desirable to ensure that the drain hose does not disconnect from the port, while the fluid is being drained.
U.S. Pat. No. 9,151,424 B2 of Allott et al. issued on Oct. 6, 2015 (“the '424 patent”) and discloses a connector for connecting a hose coupler to a drain knob. A hose may be attached to the hose coupler for draining fluids. The '424 patent discloses a connector that includes a baseplate. The baseplate includes an opening and an interlocking feature. The '424 patent discloses a hose coupler that includes teeth that engage with the interlocking feature in the opening to attach the hose coupler to the baseplate. The baseplate of the '424 patent also includes appendages that extend axially from the base plate. The appendages include projections that engage with surfaces of the drain knob to attach the hose to the port.
Although the '424 patent discloses a connector for connecting a hose to a port, the connector of the '424 patent may be further improved. For example, although the appendages associated with the connector of the '424 patent help to secure the hose coupler to the drain knob, mechanical forces on the hose and or the pressure of the draining fluid may still be able to dislodge the hose coupler from the drain knob. Additionally, the teeth on the hose coupler may break when subjected to strong vibrations and/or mechanical forces during assembly of the connector to the port or during fluid transfer operations.
The hose coupler of the present disclosure solves one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems of the prior art.